‘Lectures’. This word usually brings a chill to the spines of anyone who has had to face even one. For those who have had to sit in college, listening to a particularly boring professor droning on, it may also remind them of monotony and lethargy. What if we told you that nowadays there are interesting ways to attend lectures, even when you aren’t physically present in class? Would you believe us? But this is exactly the scene that is visible across cities like Jaipur and Kota, where students preparing for IIT-JEE are heading online to attend lectures while sitting in the comfort and privacy of their own homes.

Although the internet has been available in India for nearly 20 years now, the recent availability of smartphones and better connectivity has given a boost to the number of internet users and content providers alike. Coaching institutes, well known for using conventional tools, have also taken up novel methods of teaching that utilise this reach effectively. With better connectivity, tools like online video streaming have come of age and now are the primary weapons in the arsenal that these institutes have developed for the internet.

First up, these institutes took up video recordings of existing lectures and uploaded them on the internet, where students could see those lectures when they wanted to, as many times as needed, as per their convenience. Today, almost every coaching institute has put up video lectures online for their students, which have garnered a minimum 850-1000 views. Going one step further, some institutes have started recording videos meant purely for an online audience. Physics Galaxy, an education website based in Jaipur, live streams its lectures as well. Professor Ashish Arora, Founder & Chief Mentor, Physics Galaxy, says, “Every Friday at 9:30 PM, students log in to study physics concepts from the JEE syllabus, which are taught live.” If students have any query, they type it in, and it is answered immediately during the live stream itself.

Career Point, an institute based in Kota, has launched an online portal named StudyBoard, which provides a platform to both students and teachers. Students who sign up on the website can post queries and questions, which are answered by registered teachers and coaches. Even on PaGaLGuY, which started as a discussion portal, students discuss queries, questions and exams on a regular basis with each other.

Recent reports have stated that for many students, their first contact with the internet does not happen on a computer, but on a smartphone or tablet. With these devices, students are able to access content without being tied to a single location. Mobile Apps developed for JEE coaching ensure that the student can access their studies on the go, not necessarily sit in front of computers, or even have internet access once the app is downloaded. Motion Education Pvt. Ltd., a coaching institute based in Kota, has developed a tablet-based app for its students, where they can not only access video lectures, but also give mock tests that are analysed in detail after completion.

PaGaLGuY recently released its mobile app, Prepathon, to provide online coaching for job oriented exams like IBPS & SSC, and MBA entrance exams like CAT. The unique feature that this app provides is a personal coach, available 24×7, to solve queries and doubts of students appearing for these exams. Currently, Prepathon also has quizzes for JEE prep, and coaches and mock tests are in the pipeline as well.

From classrooms using projectors and PowerPoint presentations, to video lectures with animations and graphics, technology has transcended the traditional methods that used to bind education down. Once limited to the area of a classroom, education today has breached the physical world thanks to the internet and made learning possible anywhere and everywhere. With continuing innovation, the education industry can only scramble to ensure they utilise the internet to the fullest.